Lawrence Central Rotary

Category: News

Lawrence Douglas County Bicycle Advisory Committee Seeks Two Candidates

The Lawrence Douglas County Bicycle Advisory Committee is looking to fill two member seats at large, for positions Lecompton and Baldwin City have elected not to fill through their appointments. The first consideration for appointments will be at our February 4th, 2014 meeting. Please attend the February 4th meeting if you are interested in serving a three year term on the BAC.

Please find the agenda packet for our next BAC Meeting on February 4th, 2014 at the following link: http://lawrenceks.org/boards/bicycle-advisory-committee
This meeting will be held in the Public Works Conference Room, Lawrence City Hall, 6 East 6th Street, at 5:00pm.

The Lawrence-Douglas County Bicycle Advisory Committee provides a communication linkage between the City and County Commissions and the community on bicycling related issues. The Committee works to improve bicycle safety and awareness through education of motorists and non-motorists; review, update, and oversee the distribution of the City’s Biking Map; seek information from multiple sources on current trends, programs, and facilities outside the local area; and promote bicycle awareness by coordinating activities with the City, County, the school district, universities, and the local bicycle clubs.

For questions please contact:

Jessica Mortinger, AICP, Transportation Planner – jmortinger@lawrenceks.org
Lawrence – Douglas County Planning & Development Services | www.lawrenceks.org/pds/
City Hall 6 East 6th Street
P. O. Box 708 Lawrence, KS 66044-0708
office (785) 832-3165 | fax (785) 832-3160

January 29, 2014
Dr Paul Atchley Discusses Distracted Driving at Lawrence Central Rotary

Dr. Paul Atchley, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Kansas, worked hard to dispel myths about distracted drivers when he spoke to the Lawrence Central Rotary on January 22, 2014. Atchley conducts research as a part of the KU Transportation Research Institute that focuses issues of vision and attention related to driving. In his presentation he pointed out a few myths about technology and driving today.

Myth #1: Everyone talks on the phone while driving, so it must be ok to do it.
Atchley declares that the probability of being in a car crash goes up 400% if the driver is distracted by texting, talking on a cell phone, or even talking to a passenger in the car. And he has the statistics to back it up!

Myth #2: When people know the risks, they will change.
So why do people persist in dangerous behaviors? Atchley says that the human brain deceives us into unrealistic expectations about our own abilities. He gave a number of examples to demonstrate that seeing is not just a visual capacity, it is a process of “attending.” And everyone thinks they are better at it than they really are!

Myth #3: Multitasking.
Atchley reminded club members that when traffic gets heavy, usually the driver of a vehicle stops conversation and both the driver and the passenger focus on other the cars around them. If a driver is listening to the radio or a book on tape, he probably will miss a chunk while navigating a difficult traffic situation. No one can do two things at once, not even talking and driving.

So certainly we won’t make a phone call from our car on the way home from the meeting. Another myth! Our attitudes are disconnected from our actions. Most of us won’t change the way we behave.

So what do we do? Atchley’s solution to stopping distracted drivers is “education and enforcement.” He and others conducting research have the story to tell. The next step is to enact tougher laws against the use of cell phones in moving vehicles.

January 24, 2014
Transportation Planner Jessica Mortinger Presents to Lawrence Central

Central Rotary’s own Jessica Mortinger was the speaker at the January 15 meeting, telling the club about her work as a transportation planner with Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).

Jessica works with a network of committees and groups in a variety of ways. She and her supervisor conduct surveys, prepare flyers and releases, create long range transportation plans, do population projections and update existing situations to name a few of their functions.

Her work is funded out of a consolidated grant program, rather than by the city of Lawrence, and some federal funding is also involved.

“We’re stewards of public money so it requires our processes to be up to standard.” she said. “We maintain and update regional planning regularly. We have a technical advisory committee of public officials and a city/county advisory committee.” They also work with a regional transit advisers committee.

“We bring people together to find out what they want through open houses, public meetings and surveys,” Jessica said. “Getting people concerned on the local level helps us see where we should work. While politics is a reality of planning and we have to incorporate financial reality, what we really want is to get people where they need to go, safely.”

Future projects include bikeway expansion and pedestrian issues such as accessing transit and crosswalks.

January 17, 2014
Lawrence Central & Salvation Army Adopt a Family

Lawrence Central Rotary Club collected gifts for three families as a part of the local The Salvation Army USA Douglas County Adopt a Family program.

Here’s our own Jessica Mortinger who along with Scott Wagner collected all the items so they could be dropped off.

Thanks to all our members who helped out!

December 19, 2013
KU Center for Sustainability Director Speaks to Lawrence Central Rotary

Jeff Severin, Director of the Center for Sustainability at Kansas University, got a lot of questions from Lawrence Central Rotarians this week about the new parking lot on campus that has pavement developed to reduce heat and to allow rain water to flow through it. Not only is the lot an experiment to test the permeable pavement, it also features trees and other landscaping, LED lighting, and accessibility enhancements that are cutting edge, according to Severin.

Jeff sees KU’s campus as a “living lab” for sustainability. At its core, sustainability is respect for all relationships that build community. His small staff works to foster sustainability awareness in all aspects of campus living including administration, buildings and grounds, curriculum and research, student life, energy, waste management, transportation, and procurement. They encourage innovative projects like the parking lot as well as the research that will determine the success of its features.

Other sustainability initiatives at KU include implementing a method of quantifying sustainability factors using the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS). Jeff leads a Tree Advisory Board that develops policy, plans work priorities, and raises funds to replace trees on campus. He chairs Bike KU, a group encourages student biking by providing information about bike maintenance, parking, safety, and theft prevention as well as by coordinating with the City of Lawrence rideability initiatives. Another project this fall was to oversee the collection of waste at the football games on campus in order to recycle and compost in an effort to reduce the amount of garbage brought to the landfill.

December 19, 2013